Hench-Sized Comic Book Reviews – 12/5/15
For some reason, this is a super heavy Marvel week for me. I read a bunch of DC Comics, but this week I pointed my review cannon squarely at what Marvel had to offer — though I was sure not to miss the first issue of Robin War. Gotta represent the ‘R’!
As for Marvel, we’ve got a ton of good comics! New Angela, Iron Man and Avengers issues, as well as the debut of Totally Awesome Hulk, which I enjoyed. I’ve also finally reviewed an X-Men comic in this new All-New, All-Different world.
But Comic Book of the Week goes to Doctor Strange #3, a delightfully weird comic that lets Jason Aaron stretch his insane muscles!
I know a lot of people who would be dying for Cumberbatch to do this scene
It’s got the focus of his Thor and the madcap zaniness of his Wolverine and the X-Men.
And remember, now is your chance to buy the first two issues of my own comic, Gamer Girl & Vixen! Stop by our store and check us out!
Comic Reviews: All-New, All-Different Avengers #2, All-New X-Men #1, Angela: Queen of Hel #2, Doctor Strange #3, Invincible Iron Man #4, Robin War #1 and Totally Awesome Hulk #1.
I Assume My Co-Workers Spent Their Holiday Bonus on Something More Practical
My company handed out the annual Holiday/Christmas bonus last week, and I kind of went a little overboard with mine. I assume my co-workers were probably more responsible with the money…but not me.
Booyah!
This was why I had such a good day on Wednesday. This is the ultimate holiday splurge. I feel like a kid in a toy store…which is literally what happened.
Recently, my office has been handing out Christmas bonuses as pre-paid, universal gift cards. The responsible, adult thing to do would be to maybe spend that money on groceries or bills. But for the first time in a few years, I’m not flat broke at Christmas, so I’m not clutching at a Christmas bonus like some desperate lifesaver.
So boom, free money! Retail therapy!
I went to Toys R Us looking for a big, expansive LEGO set. I’ve never had a big, expansive LEGO set. I kind of imagine that they’re awesome. But there just weren’t many good ones available. Maybe the new Force Awakens Millennium Falcon, or the Star Destroyer, but both of those were actually more than my Christmas bonus.
When it comes to LEGOs, I prefer vehicle models over playsets. Give me the Batmobile over the Batcave any day. Vehicles are one, solid, clear object. Playsets are whatever the LEGO designers feel like designing.
So there I was, scouring the LEGO wall at Toys R Us, and two of the greatest recent models jump out at me. I don’t know when I’ll get around to building them, but it’s going to be a blast. Sometimes I love being a geek.
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Batman v. Superman Brings the Everything
We were teasered earlier this week, and now the full brunt of the latest Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice trailer has arrived!
It’s pretty good. There’s a lot given away in this trailer. We see Clark and Bruce meet for the first time, we see why they go to war, we see how Lex Luthor responds, we see Doomsday, who’d only been rumored up to this point, and we see Wonder Woman’s arrival in response to Doomsday. That’s kind of the whole movie, right?
Captain America v. Iron Man: Dawn of War still leads the pack for me!
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Review: Teen Titans #14
You know what, I had a really good day yesterday, so I’m going to take Teen Titans #14 as the beginning of something better. It’s not a good comic, mind you. In fact, it suffers mercilessly from one of Teen Titans‘ worst ongoing problems. But there’s an effort being made for a clean break, and possibly the promise of some more focused storytelling. And parts of it are pretty good even. I say that with a straight face. If the writing duo of Scott Lobdell and Will Pfeifer can keep this going, Teen Titans may actually be…eh…serviceable?
Teen Titans #14
Teen Titans #14 has some good parts for the team, but pits them against possibly the most ludicrous adversaries in the title’s history. So you’ve got to take the good with the bad on this one.
Comic Rating: 4/10 – Pretty Bad.
One of the major problems with Teen Titans in the New 52 has been their insane policy with villains. They’ve fought some classics, like Trigon, and Harvest was at least positioned as a major villain with a major stake in the team. But more often then not, the Teen Titans fought against villains who came out of nowhere and had nothing to do with anything. It was like DC was haphazardly throwing darts at a big book of DC characters. There were the drugged-out prep school kids only a few issues ago, there was Detritus way back at the start of the series, there were The Light and The Way, and who can forget Grymm?
All of you. Every single one of you forgot Grymm. Nobody remembers Grymm. But he made two appearances in Teen Titans! Two!
Anyway, for reasons that will never make any sense to me, the Teen Titans fight against no less than five random, strange adversaries in this issue. That’s the weird, bad part. The good part of the issue is that they actually act like a team! Red Robin actually leads the Teen Titans in battle, issuing commands and utilizing their powers and fighting styles to the battle’s benefit. It’s kind of awesome. And it’s something that I really hope continues…except that the ending just throws everything out of whack all over again. So whatever.
Join me after the jump for the full synopsis and review!
Gamer Girl & Vixen is Now Available!
Big news today, comic book fans! Gamer Girl & Vixen is now available to purchase in our online store! We’ve been working hard for the past year to make this comic a success, and after an amazing Kickstarter this past summer, and even more hard work by my co-writer Kristi McDowell, we’re bringing you Gamer Girl & Vixen on new comics Wednesday!
Come and visit our new online store!
Artwork by the very talented Gemma Moody
We’re selling physical copies of issues #1 and #2 for $2 a piece, plus shipping and handling. We’ve also got some bonus artwork available if you’d like.
I know you henchies have been following along intently as I try to make my comic writing dream a reality. I appreciate all the support you’ve shown so far, especially those of you who stepped up and helped make our Kickstarter a success!
This new store is only the beginning, hopefully! We’ve got even more Gamer Girl & Vixen news coming soon, so stay tuned! Check out our website and social media to stay up on the latest info.
And our regularly scheduled List of Six will be along shortly!
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